The Purist’s Gasser – 1955 Oldmobile 88

A Lifelong Oldsmobile Purist Steps Over to the Dark Side To Build aBitchin' Street Gasser.

Some people are just brand loyalists. You know who these guys are;they’re the ones completely captivated by the style and feeling of acertain make for reasons even they may not be able to explain. MarkThatcher is that way for Oldsmobiles. As long as he can remember, he’sbeen enthralled by all things Olds, from rare factory performers tosimple sedans. It’s a sickness that set in during childhood. Growing upnext door to an Oldsmobile dealership, Mark watched new and old carsroll in and out every day and became fascinated. From the elegant ’50sdesigns to the more muscular ’60s models, they all captivated thebudding car lover: “They couldn’t keep me out of that dealership. I usedto stop by on my way home from school. I got to where I knew people intown by their cars.”

As Mark grew up, his passion for those classic Oldmobiles never flagged.Even during the major gas crunch of the ’70s, when many people unloadedtheir muscle for fuel-efficient, econoboxes, Mark was still driving andbuying vintage Oldsmobiles whenever he could. “Dealers used to call mewhen stuff came in. I’ve got 442s that I paid $300 or $400 for. Itseemed like it was a bottomless pit, like you were going to be able toget them for a few hundred dollars forever.” Of course, in the mid-’80s,when America began to snap back to its senses, those great deals quicklyvanished, and Mark increasingly began holding onto the cars he boughtrather than selling them.

Mark established Color-Rite in 1988, a paint company that specializes inOEM motorcycle and automotive finishes. The ever-growing success of thecompany brought Mark the means to purchase a large building in the smalltown of East Bangor, Pennsylvania, for his mounting collection thatcurrently consists of 25 Oldsmobiles, including the lowest knownproduction number ’68 Hurst Olds, a ’70 442, and a ’72 Cutlass with only1,000 original miles on it.

One of the conveniences of small-town life is that people tend to knowtheir neighbors, and Mark’s Oldsmobile fixation is widely known amongthe residents. In fact, there’s hardly an Oldsmobile car or part thatenters town without Mark’s knowledge. This has often worked in hisfavor, and in fact, that’s how this particular ’55 Oldsmobile 88 cameinto his possession.

Several years back, a judge found the Olds for sale in Washington andhad it shipped to Pennsylvania with intentions of restoration. But, asit sometimes goes, the judge found himself too busy to give the car theattention it needed, and the ’55 languished in his garage for a coupleof years until he decided it was time to let someone else have a chanceat it. Of course, he knew just the person to call. The Olds wascertainly in need of restoration, but Mark saw great potential in thecar, and a deal was struck.

The ’55 was slated to become a nicely restored stocker for Mark tocruise the Pennsylvania streets in. All that changed one day at a carshow when Mark ran across Jerry Csontos’ ’55 Chevy Gasser. Mark hadnever been a big fan of Tri-Fives and never had much of an interest inGassers in general, but he was simply blown away by the attention todetail and careful execution on every aspect of the car. The Chevy notonly had the look, but also was executed to such period-correctperfection that he fell in love with the style. It was the first radicalhot rod Mark truly wanted. He decided then and there that there would bea Gasser in his future, and of course, it would be an Olds.

Mark is no stranger to a wrench, but he’d never built a Gasser before,and there aren’t a great deal of Oldsmobile Gassers to emulate, so heknew he wanted his to be fabricated by experienced hands. After meetingJerry and talking with him about the ’55 Chevy, Mark knew he was justthe man for this project. He put his faith in Jerry’s abilities andtechnique, striking a deal that gave Jerry near-complete control overthe build. The only real contingency Mark had was that the car needed tobe a reliable streeter ready to roll for Power Tour(TM) ’06. “Jerry’s areal craftsman, the kind of guy who just gets swept away in hisprojects. It will literally take up all of his time for like a year, orwhatever it takes for him to be satisfied with it.”

For the next 10 months, Jerry focused completely on the buildup of theOlds, like he was preparing the car for himself. Just as with his own’55 Chevy, everything on the Oldsmobile had to be “just so, with nocompromises.” At the end of the tireless work, Mark says he almost feltbad taking the keys back. “He looks at that car like a child. It washard for him to let it go.”

In the end, only one real compromise was made on the build, which youmay have already spotted in the photos: the shifter. Because the Oldshad to be ready for a 3,000-mile round trip on Power Tour(TM) with noworries, Mark opted for the new aftermarket shifter for safety’s sake.The old-style, Sparkomatic shifter that was the original choice was justtoo easy to knock into the wrong gear. Jerry, of course, hated thatlittle deviation and placed a piece of tape over the nameplate with”Geo-Matic” written on it to show his disgust.

Mark hadn’t had any real seat time behind the wheel of a straight axle,leaf sprung rod and was a bit concerned on the maiden voyage as he washaving to fight the steering wheel to keep the Olds straight much morethan he was accustomed to. It certainly didn’t drive like an Oldsanymore. But as luck would have it, while out on a drive, Mark happenedto run into an old guy who took one look at the front suspension andadvised him to “toe-in the wheels a flavor.” Mark had no idea whatexactly that meant, and neither did the alignment shop, which swore thecar was on ideal specs. But by guessing at the number of degrees in a”flavor,” the shop altered the car’s alignment, and to Mark’s delight,the steering issues were cured.

Shortly thereafter, Mark packed up the trunk, and he and the Oldscomfortably and uneventfully cruised the 1,100 or so miles fromPennsylvania to Orlando, Florida, for the kickoff of Power Tour(TM) ’06.We weren’t the only ones who noticed it; even though half the car has anunpolishable satin finish, Mothers Polish was proud to invite Mark todisplay the Olds in its booth at the scheduled stops. Power Tour(TM) wasthe first real road trip for the Olds, and as a true testament to thequality of Jerry’s work, it made every stop on the drive to Englishtownwithout missing a beat. It may have all the looks of an old racer, butJerry succeeded in making this Olds the perfect balance between Gasserand street car.

Mark tells us serious track time is not in the cards for this Gasser,but serious street time is. Though he’s got a fleet of classyOldsmobiles to spread his time among, the Gasser’s quickly become one ofMark’s favorite rides and a regular fixture on the streets of EastBangor. The ’55 may be a grand departure from Mark’s typical type ofcar, but it still holds its Olds heritage strongly enough to please thispurist.

Quick Inspection: ’55 Oldsmobile 88

Mark Thatcher, East Bangor, PA

POWERTRAIN

Engine: A 394ci Olds engine from a ’62 Starfire wastreated to a thorough rebuild and fitted with an Offenhauser intaketopped off with three ’57 J-2 carbs from an Oldsmobile 317 Rocketengine. The original No. 23 Olds Starfire heads bolt up to a handbuiltset of fenderwell headers and cutouts attached to dual 21/2-inch pipes.

Transmission: A Turbo 350 had its head chopped off andreplaced with the Oldsmobile-specific bellhousing.

CHASSIS

Frame: The frame and chassis are stock ’55 Olds untiljust past the mounting point for the steering gearbox, where Jerry cutthe front section off. Jerry built the new front frame to optimizemounting points and geometry for the leaf-spring installation whiletrying to retain an era- correct appearance.

Suspension: The front suspension uses mostly ’58 GMCpickup parts, including the solid axle. The rear retains the originalrebuilt axle with a 3.08 ratio, and the springs were swapped out for aset from a ’55 Buick station wagon.

Brakes: The factory Olds drum brakes still reside onall four corners. The truck axle was machined down for fitment in front.

Wheels: 15×5-inch Torq-Thrust TOs roll on the front,with the original Olds steelies widened to 8 inches on the back.

Body: Most of the body remains unaltered except for thenose, where numerous small touches were intended to look like factory.With the chrome trim removed, the hood was extended and shaped to meetthe fenders like factory.

Paint: Owning a paint supplier comes in handy whentrying to decide upon just the right colors. The glossy areas arestandard automotive paint, while the satin finish derives from thesport-bike market and can be found on Ducatis, among others. Jerry’sson, Jason Csontos, was the talent behind the spray gun.

Interior: The seats look right at home in the Oldsinterior but are actually modified pieces pirated from an oldPennsylvania transit bus. Mark hand-painted the gauges himself tonear-perfect factory standards.